You'll Never Be Alone While I'm Around
by darkest-nights-will-end
Summary: Mariana tells Jesus about Wyatt, confiding in him her fears about what she did. Jesus makes sure she knows that even when he's as far away from her as he's ever been, she'll never be alone. Takes place between 3X04 and 3X05


**A/N: This takes place sometime in between More Than Words and Going South. I wanted to write a fluffy Jesus and Mariana fic considering there aren't very many out there. This was partially inspired by an RP I'm involved in. I play Mariana, and the person who plays Jesus is absolutely perfect, making it easy to have great chemistry with her.**

Jesus sat on his laptop, emailing his friends from Anchor Beach, gloating about all of the opportunities his boarding school had to offer. Of course, he missed his brothers, sisters, and moms, but he was having a blast! He kept in contact pretty well, so even though he wasn't there, it wasn't as if he was an absent figure. He wasn't sure how he felt about this AJ guy taking his room, seeing as he didn't know the guy. Everybody but Brandon seemed to like him although, so Jesus was sure he was a decent guy. He couldn't wait to return home to everybody, especially Mariana. He had known it was really hard for her to accept all of the change happening in her life, between Someone's Little Sister going on tour, and the accident, and him leaving. She had been very selfless though, showing as little sadness as she could. Of course, Jesus knew she hadn't taken it well, but both knew that this was something Jesus really wanted and needed. Seeing as she was the only constant in his life, he found himself missing her more than he'd cared to admit. He thought about calling her, but before he could, his laptop started ringing, alerting him that he had a video call. Seeing that it was his twin, he picked up.

"Hey Mari! What's up?" Jesus waved to the girl. Immediately, his twinstinct told him that something was wrong.

"Nothing really. How's school going?" Mariana clearly didn't want to tell him right away, so he decided to act like he didn't know what was going on.

"It's nice. The people are cool. I miss you, though," Jesus mentally celebrated his victory as his sister smiled.

"I miss you too, Jesus. I'm counting down the days until you get home. I never thought I'd miss you this much, honestly," Mariana said. Jesus mocked surprise at her statement.

"Oh please, you missed me before I was gone. How are things at home?"

"A mixed bag. Moms don't seem to be getting along as well as they usually are. I know people fight, but I'm hoping that it's just stress. Jude and Connor went to a prom, leading Jude to finally officially come out to us. Brandon got kicked out of Idyllwild, Mike is going to foster AJ, and Callie's not in any trouble, for once. So all in all, could be worse," Jesus noticed that Mariana left out a key person. Herself.

"And you? What's going on with you, Mariana?" Jesus felt a bit uneasy, as if something was really wrong. But Mariana's face betrayed zero emotion.

"Same old, same old. Hey, guess what? I got a job! I'm working at Victor's bakery. I even convinced him to start selling churronuts!"

"Wait, really? Is it weird?" Jesus was always a bit uncomfortable around his biological family. Not that he didn't love them, it was just a different type of love than he felt for his real family.

"Not really. It's alright. A job is a job and it's helping me connect with them. They're relatives, you know?" Mariana had always been more into getting to know the life she could have had. Jesus on the other hand wanted as little as possible. Not that Mariana would, but she was more into getting to know everybody. Honestly, it just hurt Jesus more than it helped.

"Yeah, I guess," Jesus decided to get to the point. "Hey, so did you want to tell me what's _really_ going on with you?" Mariana started to look down, folding her arms across her stomach. But she still wasn't ready to give it up.

"What are you talking about? I just told you what's been going on."

"Mari, you can't fool me that easily. Even through a webcam, I can see that something's going on, and I can guess its important by the way you're acting. It's the same way you act every time you're in trouble," he saw right through her. She paused, deciding if she should tell him or not.

"Actually...There's something I really need to tell you. I haven't told anybody else, but I don't know what to do. You have to SWEAR you won't tell anybody. Especially Moms." Now Jesus was really starting to freak out.

"Well, if it's really import-"

"Nobody, Jesus. Or I won't tell you," Mariana said seriously.

"Okay, I promise. What's up?" He held his breath as he waited for an answer.

"Do you remember me telling you about the party at the beginning of summer?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, I kind of intended to lose my virginity that night. To Mat. Before he left on tour so he would remember me," Jesus stiffened at the thought of his sister doing anything more than hugging, but he realized he'd have to deal with it someday. He already didn't like where this was going.

"Okay. Did it happen?" Jesus took a deep breath. He didn't want to have this conversation, but if it was truly bothering Mariana, he needed to step up and be her brother. Mariana paused, looking down before answering.

"Well...not with Mat. He didn't want to just yet. He didn't want it to be rushed."

"So if not with Mat...Who? Did somebody force himself onto you? Are you okay?" Jesus's blood was boiling at that point, jumping to conclusions faster than he should.

"No, nothing like that. I was sitting alone, feeling upset and rejected, when Wyatt came over. And we were talking and drinking and next thing I knew, it happened. I had sex with Wyatt."

"What? Wyatt? Callie's ex-boyfriend? How could you, Mariana?" Jesus was livid. He was angry at Mariana for making such a stupid choice. He was mad with Wyatt for allowing it to happen. And of course, he was mad with himself for not being able to do anything, even though it wasn't his fault.

"I know, Jesus. I know. Whatever, I shouldn't have called you. Don't worry, I'll figure it out on my own," Mariana replied. She didn't want to be lectured. She knew that she had messed up, and would pay the price for it. It was very possible that she'd be paying the price for a long time. Jesus tried to calm down, not wanting his sister to do anything more irresponsible.

"I'm sorry, Mari. I don't mean to make you feel bad. Is everything okay now? Did you tell Mat?"

"No, I haven't. I haven't really told anybody. But there's more," she said. How could there be more? Jesus wasn't ready to hear the more, but nevertheless, he asked.

"What kind of more, Mariana?" She held up a small box. Jesus squinted at it, seeing it was a pregnancy test box.

"This," she said. She didn't know what else to say.

"A pregnancy test? Mariana, weren't you safe?"

"We used a condom, but I'm still scared. I don't know what to do, Jesus!"

"Where did you get that? Have you taken it yet?" There were so many thoughts running through Jesus's mind, he didn't know what he wanted to say first.

"Mama had some from when she was trying to get pregnant. I took the box when nobody was home, but I haven't taken the test yet. I don't want to. What if it's positive?" At this point, Mariana was close to tears. Never before had her mistakes had such potentially permanent consequences.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Mariana. You don't know. If it is positive, then you know everybody will support you, okay? We'll deal with it. Nobody is going to love you any less," Mariana paused before answering.

"Jesus? I don't want to become like Ana," Jesus looked her dead in the eyes as he answered.

"You will _never_ be anything like Ana, Mari! Ana didn't want us, she was more into drugs than her own children. I know that even if you didn't plan this, you'll still love your child or children unconditionally. And even when it does get hard, you'll have me, moms, Brandon, Callie, and Jude to help you! You won't be alone. I promise. The big difference between you and Ana is that you have people who love you," Jesus concluded his speech as Mariana wiped away a few tears.

"If...if I were to go take it now...would you wait for me? I don't want to do it alone."

"Of course, Mariana. I'll be here," Jesus promised. Even if he was miles away, he refused to let his sister believe she was alone.

"Okay. I'll be back in about 2 minutes, okay?" Mariana got up, box in hand, and moved out of the frame of the webcam.

The next two minutes became the longest two minutes of Jesus's life. All he could think about was 'What if?' If Mariana really was pregnant, everything would change. The whole dynamic of the family would shift, and there would be at least one more member of the family, if not more. Jesus hadn't wanted to freak Mariana out, but she _was_ a twin. It wasn't uncommon for twins to have twins. Another factor to be considered was Mariana's health. She was far too young to be having children, and Jesus was worried her body and wellbeing could pay the price. Jesus immediately made a decision. If his sister was pregnant, he would come home. She would need somebody to be there for her at all times, and as much as Jesus loved and trusted his family, it wasn't going to be anybody but him.

The minutes seemed like hours, but Mariana was back eventually.

"Well? Have you looked yet?" Jesus asked. Mariana shook her head.

"Not yet. I wanted to be here, with you. Ready?" Her voice wavered. This was it. The moment that could define her future for the rest of her life.

"Yeah. I'm ready. It'll be okay, Mariana. Promise," he tried to be supportive, even though he felt sick inside. She looked up at him, picked up the stick, and looked at it. She didn't say anything at first, but just sighed and rubbed her temple. Jesus assumed the worst.

"Well, what is it? Are you pregnant? You know, you never really know until you go to a docto-"

"I'm not pregnant, Jesus! Oh my God, I'm not pregnant," she showed him the one line that had appeared. Jesus sighed with relief.

'"Thank God, Mariana. This is great!" Although had he needed to, Jesus would have stepped up to the plate to help his twin, he couldn't describe how elated he was that Mariana wasn't pregnant.

"Now we can just forget about this whole ordeal, and put it behind us, thankfully."

"Yea- wait no. Even though you aren't pregnant, you still had sex with Wyatt, Callie's ex. Even worse, they're still pretty good friends. When are you going to tell her?" Even Jesus knew that she needed to tell Callie. Although what he didn't know was how she'd react.

"Do I have to?" Mariana already knew the answer, but she didn't want to face the music. She knew that she had made a terrible mistake, and that it could cost her sisterhood with Callie.

"Yes, Mariana. The sooner you do it, the sooner you can begin to gain her trust and forgiveness. Plus wouldn't it be nice to not have this hanging over your head?"

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Jesus."

"No need to thank me, I'm your brother. You'd do it for me," Jesus knew every word he spoke was the truth. Mariana smiled, but still looked a bit on edge.

"Well, I should probably go become the least favorite member of the family. Keep next weekend free so you can come speak at my funeral," Mariana joked, but Jesus could see the very real worry underneath.

"Hey, Mari? I won't tell, okay? You do it when you're ready. I'll be here if you need anything until, or after, then."

"Thanks, Jesus. Talk to you later?"

"For sure...Love you, Mariana," Jesus didn't normally share that with his sister,even if he knew it to be one hundred percent true, but he figured she needed to hear it.

"Love you too, Jesus. Goodbye," she closed laptop, ending her call. Before getting up and going about her life, she took a moment to reflect on how great of a brother Jesus really was. Although they didn't always show it, she knew they were always on each other's team. And she hoped it would stay that way for many years to come.


End file.
